With basket in hand, I walked along the main road. The same kids brought the same mangled plants again, but today something was different. There was a carriage I didn’t recognise parked on the main street.

I looked at the carriage, and it seemed to be either the property of a noble or someone very wealthy. The white sword upon silver deer horns wasn’t a crest I had seen before. Though the white on blue background was something that reeked of every book I had read on the southern crests.

I wanted to take a closer look at the rare visitor, but I had other things to tend to. I returned to the children and handed out the coin they got for how much they brought me. at first it was great, but there wasn’t as many children as before. Only a few remained to be regulars while the others only did it when they were desperate for money.

As it turns out, children can find other things to do in the dirt rather than pick plants… like being a child.

I wasn’t complaining though. Most of the children that disappeared were the ones that took from gardens and pushed in line. There are always bad people if the population is big enough, but now the group was nice and small.

I had to go to some peddlers and shell out more money than I would have like to, to fill the basket, but we needed every little bit. We had yet to stop buying any of our resources because we learned that we could sell them preserved to the pharmacist’s guild. Normally it wouldn’t be worth it for either end, but they were already sending vials, so we just sent products back on the same carriage.

I bounced my now significantly lighter coin pouch and looked around. I had to head back to the apothecary, but boy did I want to find that visitor.

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When I finally decided to give up, I saw something amusing. A figure in a white cloak approached me. trying to hold in my laughter I called out to them.

“Oh wow, there’s definitely not anything in front of me and definitely not some noble.”

The person behind the hood answered my taunt.

“You jest, but wearing a cloak in the middle of the day no matter the colour is rather conspicuous don’t you think?”

“Not around here it’s not, it just means you work for the apothecary.”

“Oh, then is that why you are collecting so many plants? Silly me thinking you would like a flower.”

I thought it was just a retort based off of his tone, but he was genuinely holding a flower. I tilted my head and looked at the guy in front of me.

“I suppose you came in the fancy carriage?”

“You would be correct.”

“Since you can afford the trip here, I assume your territory would be better, what brings you here?”

“My uncle made a little investment, this little investment of his bore fruit recently and a shop has opened up for us.”

“What kind of shop did you open?”

“My apologies for my bad wording, what I was meant to say is that a shop we couldn’t access has let us in.”

“I think you got scammed, there isn’t anything here worth that.”

“You might be right, but I was just checking out the territory before I bought anything.”

“Right well you do that.”

The guy took off his hood and then asked me, intent on continuing the conversation.

“You seem like someone far more knowledgeable about this territory than the average peasant. You carry a sword too, why is that?”

“Multiple reasons: one, I travel a lot. Two, I am friends with about eight mercenaries that happen to work at an apothecary. Finally number three, I would much rather carry around a giant axe, the sword is a compromise.”

“I like you; you seem like a decent person.”

I like you, neat huh. I ran out of there as fast as my little, wait no, long legs could.

I already knew that impulsive feeling, I was going to make a bad decision. either that or I already had.

so long peaceful life, it was nice while you lasted.